Journalism provides a crucial link for any community—which is why, from its founding in 1999, The Haitian Times became required reading for members of the Haitian diaspora living in the New York City area. Not only did the newspaper cover local news, but it reported rigorously on stories coming out of Haiti: Journalists from the Times were among the first to arrive after a massive earthquake struck the country in 2010.
And in 2021, having transitioned from a daily printed paper to an online-first publication, The Haitian Times turned to Automattic’s Newspack as its all-in-one solution. Newspack combines the power and stability of WordPress with a suite of tools catered specifically to the needs of journalists; the resultant technology stack helps more than 200 outlets publish stories, measure success, manage donations, and increase reader engagement.
For The Haitian Times, this toolset was crucial. “While we were able to teach ourselves what we needed to get the business going, we needed to be able to know that we had a secure system — that we had a team of folks who were thinking about the things that we’re not thinking about so that we could continue telling those stories,” says Vania Andrè, the Times’s editor-in-chief and publisher.
That includes security from online threats. Just before the 2024 US Presidential election, a Times editor was doxxed and swatted in retaliation for the paper’s coverage of threats and racist attacks made against Haitian Americans. “The one thing that really gave me peace of mind was that, while this was all happening, we had our folks at Newspack who were already thinking about our cybersecurity before I even had a chance to reach out,” says Andrè.
Such peace of mind has allowed the Times to prioritize its content above all else—and to grow while doing it. Using Newspack’s Audience Management tools, the publication was able to more than double reader donations, strengthening its ability to cover the community for many years to come. “When I think about our reach, our audience, our coverage over the next several years,” says Andrè, “it’s really going to be about following where those folks are going, wherever they are in the world, to make sure that we’re telling their stories . . . and highlighting everything that they’re dealing with.”
Featured Product
Newspack
Leveraging the power of WordPress to help local news organizations serve their communities and find a path to financial sustainability.
newspack.com
Automattic 